it's founder is veronica scott, a graduate of college for creative studies. the idea grew out of a design class project. >> we were given an assignment to fill actual needs or for a trend or planned obsolescence. and this coat came out of that class project. >> her research took her to the city's homeless shelters. she tried to figure out what people who live on the street really need to survive. veronica found that a heavy-duty garment would protect them from the elements. and she came up with a hand sewn prototype. which she proudly displayedful. >> they all tried it on, and it was their first prototype. not just mine. the idea was, it's a great idea, but it looks like a body bag. >> so veronica took that initial idea and kept improving it, working on the coat and returning to the shelter for feedback. >> i think the fact that i did the research with the people i was trying to reach out and at the end of the five months, i was known as the crazy coat girl, or the white coat girl, any mixture of those words, that was my street name. >> >> reporter: but one n